1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatus for recording a program number for each selection recorded on a recording medium and more particularly to an apparatus for setting a desired program number and for recording the thus set program number which has to increment for each recorded selection.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A known type of digital tape recorder employs rotary heads for recording a PCM (pulse code modulated) audio signal on a tape. This digital tape recorder is commonly called an R-DAT. The R-DAT has a small rotary drum whose diameter is, for example, about 30 mm. The tape is wrapped around this small rotary drum over an angular range of 90.degree.. Also, two rotary heads, having different azimuth gap angles, are mounted opposite to each other in the rotary drum over an angular distance of 180.degree.. These rotary heads are rotated at a revolution speed of, for example, 2000 r.p.m. to alternately scan the tape by a tape wrapping angle of 90.degree. each.
The audio signal is sampled at a sampling frequency of, for example, 48 kHz, and each sampled value is processed by 16-bit linear quantization to thereby produce a PCM audio signal. This PCM audio signal is timebase-compressed by the compressing ratio corresponding to the tape wrapping angle of 90.degree. with every half revolution of each of the rotary heads and then recorded on the tape as a skewed track by each of the rotary heads. Upon reproduction, the PCM audio signal reproduced from the tape by the two rotary heads is decoded, timebase-expanded and then reconverted to the original analog audio signal.
On each track, a signal used for a tracking servo during reproduction, a time code and a sub-code signal such as a program number or the like inserted into the beginning of the music as well as PCM data, are recorded on an area different from the PCM data area.
In such an R-DAT, upon recording, a start ID (identifying) signal is recorded for each recorded selection on the basis of a CD (compact disc) sync. signal (which is a sync. signal indicating the music interval supplied from a CD player that is placed in the recording mode) and a level sync. signal (which is a sync. signal indicating a muted portion of a music signal as a music interval). In order to record the program number together with the start ID signal, it is proposed that only the program number increments be recorded, one by one, beginning with the first recorded selection. Alternatively, it is proposed that the program number is not recorded together with the start ID signal but that instead it is rewritten by a so-called renumbering scheme (as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,208) at the completion of the recording. In this case, without any condition, the program number is sequentially incremented from the first recorded selection and then recorded on the tape from its beginning.